It would be naive to not be concerned about Florida. But it's worth noting the Gators have been through this before.

Specifically, last season.

Consider the following win/loss facts:

• Last season: Florida lost Feb. 18 at Arkansas, Feb. 22 to Tennessee and Feb. 26 at Alabama.
• This season: Florida lost Feb. 17 at Vanderbilt, Feb. 24 at LSU and Feb. 27 at Tennessee.

Not much difference is there? And last season, of course, everything worked out just fine. The Gators won their final two regular season games, swept three in the SEC Tournament and then rolled through the NCAA Tournament to win a national title.

Will it happen again?

Not if Florida continues to play like it did Tuesday night against Tennessee, when the Vols shot 67 percent in the first half and used a 17-0 run to pull away in an 86-76 victory. But the crucial thing to remember is that if there's anybody capable of turning a late-season slide of this magnitude, it's Billy Donovan's Gators.

This is an abbreviated version of The Poll Attacks.

Why?

Because I have gold.

Just a classic sound bite.

Courtesy of ESPN's Dick Vitale.

We'll get to that in a moment. So keep reading. But first, it's The Poll Attacks, quick and to the point.

AP poll: North Carolina is ranked eighth. That's stupid. Had the Tar Heels won at Maryland they'd be ranked no worse than third. But because they lost a road game by two points to a scorching-hot team in front of a hostile crowd of nearly 18,000 thanks to D.J. Strawberry getting a career-high 27 points, they are suddenly no better than eighth.

Note to voters: Good teams at home routinely beat elite teams.

Happens all the time.

Maryland is a good team.

North Carolina is an elite team.

The penalty for losing there shouldn't be so steep.

Coaches poll: Two coaches -- God help them -- are still putting Alabama on their Top 25 ballots. This makes no sense given how the Crimson Tide have lost four of their past five games, most recently a home defeat to Auburn. I mean, I feel goofy having Alabama still in my NCAA Tournament projections, and that's 65 freaking schools! So the idea that Mark Gottfried's team could remain in somebody's Top 25 is silly. And by silly, I mean idiotic.

Now to the good stuff ...

-- VITALE CAUGHT ON TAPE --

To be clear, I'm not one of those who is irritated by Dick Vitale. I find his enthusiasm refreshing and I've always known him to be a decent and pleasant human, on and off camera. So you can hate him if you like, but he's forever been nice to me, and that's all I really care about.

But this is too good to let pass!

Vitale was scheduled to appear on a radio show Monday morning in Knoxville in advance of Tuesday's game between Florida and Tennessee. When the hosts -- Mike Griffith and John Adams -- went to Vitale he was in a restaurant talking with some people, apparently unaware he was live on the air. The hosts kept trying to cut in, but Vitale wouldn't stop talking, and now Griffith and Adams must know how Dan Schulman feels.

Anyway, Vitale goes on to tell a story -- remember, he has no idea he's on the air even though he's actually on the air -- about how Florida's Billy Donovan told him "in confidence" NBA scouts were "making a mistake" if they took Joakim Noah over Al Horford, and if the Gators didn't already have locker room problems I'd imagine they might soon.

Honestly, it's wonderful entertainment. And to Griffith's and Adams' credit -- nice job, guys -- they played it perfectly, milking it for every quality moment. Vitale finally realized he was on the air and immediately went into Vitale-mode, enthusiastic and happy. Adams, in a stroke of genius, asked Vitale what he thought of Noah and Horford -- really nice job, John -- but the legendary color man just played it straight before getting off the air, which is when somebody from Florida told him how his "confidential" story was just made less-than-confidential over the radio in Knoxville.

Naturally, Vitale called back into the show.

And backpedaled.

But I couldn't possibly do this story justice. So just click this link and the audio clips from both phone calls are on the right side of the page. Enjoy. It's Awesome Baby with -- what else? -- a capital A.

NOT COLUMBUS, Ohio -- I still have my health. And part of my satellite dish. So I'm probably in no position to complain given how some people lost their homes and businesses (i.e., everything they own) in the storms/tornados that swept through the mid-south Saturday.

But I'm still complaining.

I was initially scheduled to travel from Memphis through Chicago to Columbus for Sunday's game between No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State on a United flight. But it was canceled because of bad weather in Chicago. So United booked me on a Delta flight through Atlanta to Columbus. No harm no foul, right?

Wrong.

United goofed up, only reserved me a seat with Delta but didn't secure it. So I never made that flight because of paperwork problems. But there was a direct flight on Northwest leaving 45 minutes later. So the nice* people at Delta (per orders from the nice* people at United) put me on the Northwest flight. Under this plan, I would actually arrive in Columbus earlier than previously scheduled. So it's all good, right?

Wrong.

By this time tornados and storms had shut down Memphis International, along with most airports in Southwest Tennessee, Northeast Arkansas and Northwest Mississippi. Consequently, Northwest canceled my Saturday flight but assured me it could get me to Columbus by ... Tuesday morning! Of course, tipoff is Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. So while I love Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., I just can't think of one reason to be there Tuesday.

Anyway, I went back to the United ticketing counter, but they were closed for the night. So I immediately called United reservations to see if those nice* folks could rebook me on an early Sunday flight the same way they booked me on that Saturday night Delta flight (except this time I wanted them to really do it). I did some other writing, paid bills and goofed around while I had United on speakerphone. I was on hold for -- no kidding or exaggeration -- four hours, 27 minutes, 35 seconds.

Long story short, I'm still at home.

Gregg Doyel has taken the assignment because he can drive to Columbus.

Which means somebody is probably getting their assed ripped Sunday night.

* -- by nice, I really mean incompetent

There's no way Sean Sutton's job is in jeopardy.

That would be silly.

That's not what I'm suggesting.

But a story in Friday's Dallas Morning News focusing on Oklahoma State -- which has lost five of six games -- has some awkward quotes from athletic director Mike Holder. Seems he was trying to publicly back his coach -- whom he didn't hire, it's worth noting -- but while doing so still provided enough weird quotes to catch my attention.

Take these for example:

What an AD usually says: "We have all the confidence in the world in our coach. He's our coach. He was a great hire. He's going to do great things here."

What Holder said: "I think a few more years into Sean's tenure as a head coach, we'll have a better idea how great he's going to be or how good he's going to be."

The difference: Most ADs talk in absolutes and positives, regardless of whether they believe the words they're speaking. But Holder seems unsure of his coach and implies he's taking a wait-and-see approach.

What an AD usually says: "Anytime you hire a young coach you're going to grow with him. That's the exciting part, and I'm sure the athletic director who hired our coach understood that, as do I. Granted, we've hit a tough stretch. Nobody is denying that. But everybody goes through tough stretches; Duke had one a few weeks back. So I'm behind my coach 100 percent because he's going to get this turned around."

What Holder said: "Anytime you hire a young coach, you can expect things like this to happen -- maybe not to this magnitude, but still you can expect some difficulties. I think the university and the athletic director at the time, Harry Birdwell, probably understood that. Everyone involved thought it was best to make that decision, and we're going to sit here and we're going to live with it."

The difference: Most ADs swear they have the right guy and that nothing is as bad as it seems, regardless of whether they believe the words they're speaking. But Holder acknowledged OSU's troubles are on a different level than normal. Furthermore, in regard to the hiring of Sutton, he said the school is going to "sit here" and "live with it."

Live with it?

You live with no air conditioner in your car because you can't afford a new one. You live with no cable television because having food in the pantry is more important. You live with your teenage son's blue hair because you want him to make his own decisions and learn from them.

But you don't "live with" your basketball coach.

The phrase "we're going to live with it" implies you don't like something, but you're going to deal with it because you don't really have a choice. So though Sutton has now received a public "vote of confidence" from his athletic director, it doesn't seem his athletic director is too confident at all, best I can tell.

Here are a few random thoughts from Wednesday night. ..

• The SEC Western Division continued to get stranger. Mississippi State and Ole Miss moved into a tie atop the standings. The Bulldogs beat the same Vanderbilt team that just beat Florida. The Rebels beat the same Georgia team (sans Mike Mercer) that had previously beaten Gonzaga and Kentucky. Meanwhile, Alabama and Arkansas each took another road loss, this time at Tennessee and Auburn.

Consequently, it appears no Western Division team is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The rundown goes like this:

Alabama: Good shape.

Ole Miss: Decent shape.

Mississippi State: OK shape.

Arkansas: Not good shape.

Auburn: Done.

LSU: Done.

My guess is Ole Miss and Mississippi State must win the Western Division to have a case, and there's no way both make it. Arkansas and Alabama could make it without winning the Western Division, though the Hogs would have to close the regular season on a three-game winning streak and the Crimson Tide would be wise to do the same.

• Southern Illinois won again. It beat Indiana State at Indiana State, which isn't simple. Now if the Salukis can handle Evansville at home this weekend (that should be simple despite an earlier loss at Evansville) they'll enter next week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on an 11-game winning streak and be in wonderful position to earn no worse than a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Further details were released about Josh Heytvelt's arrest. The Gonzaga star was apparently headed to this girl's place with mushrooms in his vehicle. I don't know whether she's worth a felony drug charge, but she's cute.

• Ohio State avoided a letdown, defeating Penn State to enter Sunday's showdown against Wisconsin with a 25-3 record. Who knows how that game will go? But there's a decent chance the Badgers could win. And then guess who would probably move to the top of the polls again? That's right, the Florida Gators. They trounced South Carolina by double digits to start a new winning streak.

• North Carolina is finally alone in first place in the ACC, which is how things should be. Credit the Tar Heels' win over N.C. State and Virginia's questionable loss at Miami as the reasons.

• I watched Chief Illiniwek's final dance at Illinois because I was curious. Gotta admit, that's about the strangest thing I've ever seen. Just weird.

• Oklahoma State was pounded by Texas A&M, and the Cowboys have now lost five of their past six games. Three of their next four are on the road. So this is not shaping up well.

• BYU won its 30th consecutive home game, 76-67 over Colorado State. It's a nice streak, but it ensures the Cougars will never again get a quality home-and-home series with a BCS school.

I was right about something.

And wrong about something.

Let's go over both somethings now.

I was right about the Jamar Smith situation at Illinois. Last week I wrote (scroll down this blog to Feb. 16) there must be more to the Smith story when Bruce Weber announced the sophomore wouldn't return to the team this season despite being healthy enough to do so following a car accident. So I wasn't surprised Tuesday when authorities announced Smith would be charged with DUI and leaving the scene of the accident that seriously injured teammate Brian Carlwell.

What did surprise me?

Smith left the scene because he apparently thought his teammate had died?

Yikes.

That just sounds awful.

So Smith is done for the season and in a legal mess, and it's unclear if he'll ever play at Illinois again. You're supposed to be willing to die for your teammates, not leave them for death. Poor kid had everything backwards. Hope he learned a lesson, and he's fortunate Carlwell is recovering just fine.

Anyway. ..

I was wrong about the Brandon Powell situation at Florida. On Monday I wrote (scroll down this blog to Feb. 19) Powell would "almost certainly pay a price" for punching a Vanderbilt student on the court following the Gators' loss to the Commodores. What I meant was a steep price like a suspension of some sort. But as it turns out Powell won't pay a steep price because, according to Florida officials, he'll be punished internally and will be available for Wednesday's home game with South Carolina.

My advice to any Gamecock fans making the trip: If your team wins, stay off the court.

Why?

Because Brandon Powell is a no-nonsense dude.

New rules for The Poll Attacks this week.

I've decided to attack nothing lower than No. 13 in either poll because beyond the top 13 teams everything is a mess. I could just as easily attack my own poll (that almost sounds dirty) as I could somebody else's from No. 13 down. So this is essentially a Top of The Poll Attacks.

Enjoy.

AP poll: In theory I like that Wisconsin and Ohio State occupy the top two places in the AP poll. I'm headed to Columbus this weekend for the OSU-Wisconsin game, so it'll be nice to have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Adds to the mystique, and I'm sure CBS -- which is televising Sunday's showdown -- couldn't be happier.

Still, it's wrong.

Wisconsin at No. 1 is fine. That's the way I have it, too. But there's no way to justify having Ohio State in front of Florida, and it's pretty simple to prove why. Just compare the credentials against the Top 100 at CollegeRPI.com.

-- OHIO STATE --

Overall Record: 24-3. Record vs. Top 25: 2-3. Record vs. Top 50: 7-3. Record vs. Top 100: 10-3.

-- FLORIDA --

Overall Record: 24-3. Record vs. Top 25: 4-1. Record vs. Top 50: 6-3. Record vs. Top 100: 13-3.

To me, the best way to pick between elite teams is to look at what they've done against other elite teams. So that OSU is 2-3 against the Top 25 and Florida is 4-1 against the Top 25 speaks volumes. And if that's not enough, well, I'll just point out that Florida and Ohio State have actually played this season, and the Gators won ... by 26 freaking points!

So put OSU third, if you like.

But the Buckeyes shouldn't be above Florida, not at this point.

Coaches poll: If I don't think OSU should be No. 2 in the AP poll then it's clear I don't think OSU should be No. 1 in the coaches poll. But I'm not going to dwell on that flaw. Here, the major flaw is having Nevada ahead of Washington State despite the Wolf Pack being 0-1 against the top 50. In other words, they've played nobody, which is why their best win is against -- drum roll please -- Utah State.

Meanwhile, WSU is 2-1 against the Top 25, 3-3 against the top 50 and 10-3 against the top 100. The Cougars have two wins against Arizona (including one on the road), a win over Stanford and another at Southern California. Yes, they have four overall losses -- two more than Nevada -- but three of those came to UCLA, Oregon and Stanford by a total of nine points.

Washington State's and Nevada's only relevant common opponent is California.

Nevada played Cal on a neutral court and won by six points.

WSU played Cal both home and away, winning by 13 points and 17 points.

So WSU should be ranked higher than Nevada, and higher than 11th too, by the way. I have the Cougars eighth. That seems like a reasonable place for them.

Just got the video of the Brandon Powell incident from Saturday's Florida-Vanderbilt game forwarded to me, and it's clear the freshman guard actually did punch a Vandy fan.

Check it out right here.

Let the white line guide you.

The SEC is still reviewing the matter, but it seems pretty obvious some sort of punishment is coming. Regardless of whether the fans were supposed to be on the court, you can't punch people, particularly if they're not punching you. But Powell threw a punch, and he'll almost certainly pay a price.

Vanderbilt's storming of the court Saturday following an upset of Florida is getting a lot of attention, and for two reasons. One, it could cost the school a $25,000 fine for violating the SEC's policy against fans on the playing surface. Two, Florida freshman Brandon Powell was caught in the middle of the celebration and apparently threw a punch.

To be clear, I'm not condoning the fans' actions.

Or Powell's alleged punch.

But I was at Memorial Gym on Saturday, and there was no way those Vanderbilt police officers were going to keep the students off the court. Furthermore, it seems reasonable that Powell would react how he reacted given he was apparently pushed and shoved from all angles. Up to me, the Vandy fans wouldn't have touched Powell and Powell wouldn't have thrown a stupid punch. But it happened. So the important question is how to keep it from happening again.

My solution?

Take however many officers you have -- whether it's 20, 40 or 60 -- and do the following: Put half in front of the students and try to slow the inevitable and put the other half around the visiting team to try to get them off the court under the type of protection only the Pope could truly appreciate.

It's not perfect, granted, but let's be honest. If fans want to storm the court it's not going to be stopped, and trying to stop it would only cause more injuries than would normally be caused by just letting them run freely.

I understand the $25,000 fine is designed to discourage such celebrations, but the average student doesn't care about a $25,000 fine, particularly when the chancellor is making a bazillion dollars a year. To fans, that $25,000 fine isn't real. They just assume the payment comes from a magical place, a money tree on campus. So it doesn't matter to them. Which is why the focus should turn from trying to keep students off the court to trying to get the opposing team off the court without incident, because that's a course of action that seems must more feasible and realistic.

Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but I can't imagine a scenario under which the Jamar Smith situation at Illinois ends well. When things don't make sense, that's usually an indication there's much more to them. And nothing about this case has made sense so far, including Friday's announcement that Smith will miss the remainder of the season following Monday's car crash that left a teammate seriously injured.

To be clear, Smith wasn't seriously injured.

Just his teammate, Brian Carlwell, who suffered a severe concussion.

Smith was treated for a slight concussion and released the same night of the accident. In theory he could return to the court soon, if not Sunday when the Illini play Northwestern. But Bruce Weber said Friday that Smith will not rejoin the team this season, the explanation being so the sophomore can "focus all of his attention on the physical, emotional, academic and other related issues he will face in the coming weeks."

Note the phrase "other related issues."

Seems that's probably the key to the whole thing.

Smith, you see, drove the wrecked car -- and it was wrecked pretty badly after hitting a tree -- away from the accident and back to his apartment complex about a mile away. Even stranger, he did not call 911 despite Carlwell being in a state that would later land him in intensive care. Two women who saw the wrecked car in the parking lot are actually the people who called police.

Was Smith so dazed he had no idea what he was doing?

Maybe, I suppose.

But I've seen quarterbacks suffer concussions and orchestrate 73-yard drives. So it's difficult to believe there's a good explanation for Smith's actions, particularly when police have made clear he could face further charges -- especially if blood tests show alcohol or other substances were in his system.

And then there's this: Weber also said Friday that Carlwell might return to the court in time for the Big Ten Tournament. So the seriously injured player might return but the slightly injured player is finished for the season.

Again, does that make any sense?

Absolutely not. Unless, of course, Smith's legal situation figures to get worse before it gets better.

Beyond the whole the "kids have bought in" and they are "playing really hard" explanations, one of the tangible reasons Ole Miss is having a surprising season is because its getting unexpected great performances from a backcourt of Todd Abernethy, Bam Doyne and Clarence Sanders.

Yep, Abernethy, Doyne and Sanders.

The first wasn't supposed to be an SEC point guard.

The second wasn't supposed to be an SEC player at all.

The third wasn't supposed to be at Ole Miss, talented or not.

Yet here they are, the three of them, playing huge roles for a team leading the SEC's Western Division.

"Clarence Sanders wasn't even on the team at the end of last year," first-year Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy told CBS SportsLine.com by phone after Wednesday night's win over LSU, in which Sanders had 29 points and the game-winning shot. "He didn't play their last two games (because he was considering transferring), and in the seven games prior to that -- of which they won one -- he shot 15 percent from the field. So it wasn't like this was a kid where everybody said we can count on Clarence Sanders."

And Doyne?

"Bam Doyne has been a part-time player his whole career with questions about whether he could even play in the SEC," Kennedy said. "Now all of a sudden he's (sixth) in the SEC in scoring."

And Abernethy?

"Everybody told me Justin Cerasoli would have to be my point guard because Todd can't play the point," Kennedy said. "Well, not only is he playing the point but he was second in the nation going into (the LSU game) in assist-to-turnover ratio, and he got 11 assists and one turnover (against LSU). So he leads the nation now in assist-to-turnover ratio."

Three surprises.

Three reasons why Ole Miss is a legitimate bubble team heading into the weekend.

"All these kids that people have always doubted -- and I'm sure there's been some self doubt, too -- are now stepping up and collectively getting the job done, and that's how we're doing it," Kennedy said. "Our individual pieces certainly don't reek of a team that is going to lead the SEC West. But these kids have collectively found a way, and that's a tribute to them and to the approach."

If nothing else, I strive to be fair. So in the spirit of fairness after last week's column about Bob Knight I should inform everybody that the Texas Tech coach did not hang up on reporters for a fourth consecutive week on the Big 12 teleconference.

This time he didn't even answer his phone.

The Big 12 office called at 11:50 ET, just like always. But Knight was unreachable, and I'm not sure whether this ends the streak or merely postpones it.

I vote for postpone.

So I'll be sure to follow this story again next week.

But while we're on the subject, let me mention three things:

1. Several readers e-mailed claiming it was reasonable for Knight to hang-up last week after 11 seconds of silence. Of course, those readers have probably never been on a teleconference because that's just not the way teleconferences work.

How do the work?

There's an operator who fields all requests for questions, and then somebody has to be patched through before the question can be asked. Sometimes the process takes 11 seconds. Sometimes it takes 21 seconds. So coaches never hang-up until the teleconference moderator tells them they are free to go. Except Knight. He hangs-up whenever he wants.

2. I spoke with an official at the Big 12 office and learned there is nothing the league can do to make Knight be on the call or not hang up whenever he wants because coaches are not contractually obligated to take part. Naturally, every coach does because the exposure it creates is invaluable to the league and programs. But the reality is Knight can do whatever he wants as it pertains to the Big 12 teleconference without punishment or reprimand, though I'm sure he'd do whatever he wanted no matter the punishment or reprimand.

3. Several readers also e-mailed claiming all my column proved was that I hate Knight just like everybody else hates Knight. But that's not correct.

To be clear, I don't hate Bob Knight.

It would never even occur to me to hate him. It's silly. I hate my neighbor's dog that barks all the time, and I hate CenturyTel because I can't understand my phone bill (and nobody at CenturyTel seems to understand it either). But Knight has no effect on my life one way or another. So I don't hate him. I just find the man fascinating, and there will never be another character like him in college basketball, which is why I enjoy writing about him both positively and negatively.

Truth is, I think Knight might be the greatest coach in the history of the sport, but I also think his approach to normal people is seriously flawed. It has cost him a lot in life and probably will continue to cost him until he's finished coaching. There's no excuse or rationale for some of the things he does. But I don't hate him because of them, or because he hangs-up on reporters.

I actually love Knight because he hangs-up on reporters.

It makes me laugh every time.

Duke is unranked for the first time in 200 weeks. To put this into perspective, understand UCLA and Memphis are now tied for the longest active streak.

At 34 weeks.

That's a crazy gap.

So Monday wasn't a day to goof on the Blue Devils as much as it was a time to applaud their accomplishments. What they've done for the past decade is unthinkable in the current state of college hoops, something even those who hate Duke must freely acknowledge.

But enough of that garbage.

There are major flaws in both rankings.

They will be exposed, as always, in The Poll Attacks.

AP poll: I'm not here to defend Duke. The Blue Devils have lost four consecutive games and don't deserve to be ranked. However, they do deserve to be ranked ahead of No. 25 Alabama, which continues to be the most baffling of all ranked teams in the country.

After a weekend loss at Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide are 18-6 overall, 5-5 in the SEC. They have no wins over schools ranked in the current Top 25 and their best win is over Xavier, which is 14th in "others receiving votes." Four of their losses are by double-digits and all six have come to teams that are currently unranked. In other words, Alabama has played zero games against teams ranked in the latest Top 25 yet still has six losses. Additionally, its RPI ranking is 30.

Meanwhile ...

After a weekend loss at Maryland, the Blue Devils are 18-7 overall, 5-6 in the ACC. They have four wins over schools ranked in the current Top 25 (over No. 14 Georgetown, over No. 17 Air Force, over No. 21 Boston College and over No. 24 Indiana) plus a win over Davidson, which is 17th in "others receiving votes." Only three of their losses are by double-digits and two of the total losses have come to ranked opponents (to No. 4 North Carolina and to No. 12 Marquette). In other words, Duke has played six games against teams ranked in the current Top 25 and is 4-2 in those games. Additionally, its RPI ranking is 18.

To be clear, I'm not defending Duke.

Duke shouldn't be ranked.

But neither should Alabama.

And Duke should certainly be ahead of Alabama.

That's my point.

Coaches poll: I've never really bought into the whole east coast bias argument. But there's some kind of something going on when UCLA, with its credentials, is ranked seventh just because it lost at West Virginia without the services of starting point guard Darren Collison. In reality, the Bruins should be no worse than fifth, and that they are two slots behind No. 5 Pittsburgh is silly on multiple levels -- and it has nothing to do with Pitt's Monday night loss to Louisville.

Forget the loss to Louisville. It happened after the polls were released. So though it reinforces everything I'm writing, I won't even use it to prove my point because I don't even need it to prove my point.

Compare the credentials:

-- UCLA --

Overall record: 21-3. Number of games vs. current Top 25 teams: Nine. Number of wins vs. current Top 25 teams: Seven (over No. 18 Kentucky, over No. 6 Texas A&M, over No. 11 Washington State, at No. 23 USC, over No. 24 Arizona, over No. 17 Oregon, over No. 23 USC). Number of losses vs. current Top 25 teams: Two (at No. 17 Oregon, at 22 West Virginia). Other losses: One (at Stanford). RPI ranking: No. 1.

-- PITTSBURGH --

Overall record (before the Louisville loss): 22-3. Number of games vs. current Top 25 teams: Five. Number of wins vs. current Top 25 teams: Two (over No. 16 Georgetown, at No. 22 West Virginia). Number of losses vs. current Top 25 teams: Three (at No. 3 Wisconsin, to No. 14 Oklahoma State, to No. 13 Marquette). Other losses: None (prior to Monday's loss to unranked Louisville). RPI ranking: No. 3 (prior to Monday's loss to unranked Louisville).

Make no mistake, Pitt is a good team. The Panthers should be ranked in everybody's Top 10. But a 2-3 record (including a home loss) against the current Top 25 is proof they shouldn't be ahead of UCLA, which is 7-2 against the Top 25 and could realistically be 8-1 if Collison would've played at West Virginia.

Honestly, you could make a case that UCLA should be as high as second or third, but I'll make that case another day. For now, just know the Bruins shouldn't be seventh under any circumstances, and that the coaches screwed this up.

They've beaten North Carolina and Texas.

They've lost to St. Mary's and Loyola-Marymount.

So this has clearly been a strange season at Gonzaga in strictly on-the-court terms. But now the strangeness has been ratcheted up a level thanks to a traffic stop late Friday that led to Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis being arrested for investigation of drug possession.

Fear and Loathing in Spokane.

From rebound tips to hallucinogenic trips.

Yep, the two Gonzaga players were busted with mushrooms (in addition to a small amount of marijuana). And though there are plenty of jokes to be cracked, for now let's focus on basketball and analyze how the development could affect the 'Zags' NCAA Tournament hopes.

In short, it's devastating.

The 'Zags were already flirting with the bubble following a non-league slate of games that proved too difficult and produced six losses. They were still considered at-large worthy. But Monday's loss at Loyola-Marymount dropped their overall record to 17-8 (it's 18-8 now) and RPI ranking from 43 to 53 (it's 54 now).

So making the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season is no absolute, and that was with Heytvelt on the court. Without him, the 'Zags transform into a pedestrian bunch lacking an inside presence, meaning Heytvelt's 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game will be greatly missed if his suspension lasts any real length of time or turns into a dismissal.

More bad news: Gonzaga hosts Memphis next weekend.

That non-league showdown was scheduled to afford Mark Few and John Calipari an opportunity to test their teams late in the season. But the last thing Gonzaga needs if Heytvelt remains out for more than Saturday night's game against St. Mary's and Monday night's game against Santa Clara is another test, and it’s hard to imagine the Zags beating eighth-ranked Memphis unless their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer is available.

How will this all shake-out?

For argument’s sake let’s assume Gonzaga loses to Memphis (which is possible even with Heytvelt) and then doesn't win the West Coast Conference Tournament in Portland. That means the 'Zags would at least carry 10 defeats into Selection Sunday and thus be reduced to asking the committee to award an at-large bid to a team with a double-digit number of losses from the nation’s 13th-rated league.

Could the invitation still arrive?

Sure, I guess.

But this is not the position these 'Zags ever expected to be in.

If you told them this was possible, they would've thought you were tripping.

Seems West Virginia's Secondary School Activities Commission exercised leniency with O.J. Mayo by allowing his mandatory two-game suspension to run concurrently with a three-game suspension imposed by Huntington High principal Greg Webb following the prep phenom's ejection from a Jan. 26 game. To that, I say well done. Because Friday's agreement not only brings closure to a strange situation but also provides Mayo an opportunity to return in time for a showdown with New Jersey's St. Patrick's High later this month.

I know at first glance it sounds like a star getting a slap on the wrist

But it's not.

The reality is that whether Mayo even deserved the second technical is highly debatable. And though initial reports had him pushing down a referee, video footage posted on YouTube.com -- God bless YouTube.com -- indicates the incident wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded.

(Judge for yourself right here. And if you're really bored and want to hear a stuffed animal's take on the situation, I've also got that for you right here.)

Did Mayo make contact with the official?

Probably.

But it seems clear he didn't shove anybody to the ground, and the truth is that official should be suspended for taking such a dive. I mean, you'll get bumped worse than that walking down a New York City sidewalk, but the official dropped like he was shot in the back. So he's either an actor or the most fragile man on the planet.

None of this is to suggest I condone Mayo's actions, by the way. He should know better than to put himself in a position where something like this could happen considering he has been a national name since the age of 14, and the idea that Mayo would ever earn a technical for taunting a high school basketball player seems about as silly as Michelle Wie being penalized for taunting a high school golfer. He's an elite talent on his way to the NBA after a one-year stop at Southern California and thus should be above taunting players with a fraction of his ability. So if he got a three-game suspension just for that, fine by me.

But Mayo didn't viciously push an official.

The footage shows as much, meaning this an example where the video actually vindicated Mayo from what was initially a "What kind of idiot is O.J.?" story. To the credit of the SSAC, it seemed to recognize this as well. So Mayo will miss the next three games and return in time to possibly lead his school to a state title, which seems reasonable on every level.

Thirty seconds remaining, Notre Dame is ahead by a point with the ball at DePaul. The Irish inbound to Colin Falls, who is stripped in the backcourt by Draelon Burns, which leads to Wilson Chandler's uncontested game-winning dunk Thursday night.

Final score: DePaul 67, Notre Dame 66.

So it was a tough loss for the Irish. They blew a sure win, and the troubling part is that it could've been avoided if they only had a reliable ball handler.

Somebody like, I don't know, Kyle McAlarney.

There were a couple of rivalry games Wednesday offering glimpses of the future.

One was an accurate glimpse.

The other was not.

But either way, in a few years -- and I'm guessing more like next year -- the in-state showdowns between UCLA-USC and Kansas-Kansas State should be as good as any in the nation, including Duke-North Carolina, Marquette-Wisconsin and Kentucky-Louisville.

UCLA-USC might already be there, actually. The Bruins edged the Trojans 70-65, but USC led most the way and could've possibly won if not for Lodrick Stewart's inexplicable spiking of the ball that garnered a technical foul with a little more than four minutes remaining.

The technical resulted in a five-point play.

Notice the final margin?

Yep, five points.

Dumb technical, Lodrick.

"I don't even want to talk about," Stewart told reporters after the game. Can't say I blame him, really.

Anyway, that means UCLA beat USC twice this season, but only by a total of six points.

"We're encouraged we can play the second-ranked team in the nation for 75 minutes, but not 80," said USC coach Tim Floyd.

Things weren't quite so close over in Kansas.

The Jayhawks pounded Kansas State 97-70. Afterward, Bob Huggins offered an honest assessment about his first trip to Allen Fieldhouse.

"They're better than us," Huggins said. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. They're better than we are. They have better players. They're bigger. They're faster. They're longer. They're better shooters. They're just better than we are."

No question, all of that is true. But what should make these rivalries interesting going forward -- this is the point I was trying to get to, by the way -- is that the two climbing programs (USC and Kansas State) have an influx of talent coming that will close the gap immediately.

O.J. Mayo, a top five recruit, has signed with USC, and he should be joined by heralded prospects Davon Jefferson and Leonard Washington, among others. Assuming everybody enrolls and everybody returns (including Nick Young and Taj Gibson) USC has a reasonable chance to be a Top 10 team.

As for Kansas State, it should get way better really fast. Michael Beasley, a top five recruit himself, has signed with the Wildcats, and he should be joined by a healthy Bill Walker, who played only six games this season before tearing his ACL. A frontcourt anchored by Beasley and Walker will be among the best in the nation, and suddenly Kansas State will be equipped to enter and exit Allen Fieldhouse without its coach acknowledging he was totally outmanned.

North Carolina-Duke is the high-profile rivalry of Wednesday.

But it's not the best game.

The best game is actually USC-UCLA at Pauley Pavilion -- a matchup between two of the top three teams in the Pac-10 that, if won by the Trojans, will push USC into a tie with UCLA atop the league standings. The Bruins won the first meeting 65-64 last month when Arron Afflalo hit a 15-foot jumper with four seconds remaining.

"It's a bigtime rivalry because they kind of shattered our dreams last time with that last-second shot," said USC freshman Taj Gibson. "So we're looking forward to going over there and playing hard."

UCLA is 20-2 and ranked second in the nation.

USC is 18-6 and ranked 19th.

Since that Jan. 13 meeting at the Galen Center, the two teams have each won five of six games. The only losses for each came at Stanford.

Remember how I wrote I didn't really have a problem with the coaches poll? (If not, check below).

Well, that's not true. I clearly wasn't focused during The Poll Attacks this week because I overlooked one glaring error in both the coaches and AP polls.

Ohio State ahead of Wisconsin?

Come on, guys. This is easy. There's no way either poll should have Ohio State over Wisconsin. The only reason it's this way is because Wisconsin lost last week at Indiana, but a team at the top of the rankings shouldn't drop below another team just because it lost a tough road game -- particularly when that team's overall credentials remain superior despite the loss.

Consider that as I type this Tuesday afternoon, Wisconsin (22-2) has two more overall wins and one less overall loss than Ohio State (20-3) while compiling an identical 8-1 record in the Big Ten. Ohio State's best win is over Indiana, but Wisconsin has wins over Pittsburgh and at Marquette, meaning the Badgers have two wins better than Ohio State's best win, plus a victory over -- drum roll, please -- Ohio State! So that's three wins better than Ohio State's best win, one of which actually came against the Buckeyes.

Nothing against Ohio State; it should be fourth, no doubt. But Wisconsin should be third in both polls. So I expect this to be fixed next week.

All it'll take is a little flip-flop.

Won't be hard at all.

The bad thing about flying east from Los Angeles is that you lose hours with the time change. I lost two hours. Just got home. It doesn't feel late, but it is late. And the polls have been out for a while, actually came out while I was sitting in between two people on a plane.

Nothing worse than a middle seat.

Except inexplicable basketball rankings.

Here are The Poll Attacks (the welcome home edition).

AP poll: Leave it to my pals in the media to watch a game over the weekend and get all giddy about what they saw. How else to explain N.C. State receiving 15 points in the AP poll?

Look, that was a phenomenal win over North Carolina, and Sidney Lowe is doing a fantastic job. But the Wolfpack are still just 13-8 overall, 3-5 in the ACC, and their ranking at CollegeRPI.com is 105. That means they shouldn't be on anybody's Top 25 ballot. Hell, they aren't even an NCAA Tournament team at this point. I mean, Colorado beat Oklahoma State on Saturday. So if you're going to rank N.C. State, why not the Buffaloes too?

Coaches poll: You know, I don't have any real big problems with the coaches poll this week. Honestly. But it seems silly that Notre Dame, at No. 21, is ranked ahead of fellow Big East member Georgetown, particularly when No. 23 Georgetown is third in the Big East standings with a 6-2 record and Notre Dame is sixth in the Big East standings with a 6-4 record.

What's more?

Georgetown has won five consecutive games. Notre Dame has lost three of its past six.

What's more (again)?

Three of the Hoyas' five overall losses were to ranked teams (at No. 6 Pittsburgh, to No. 15 Oregon and at No. 16 Duke) while only two of the Irish's five overall losses were to ranked teams. One of them was to No. 9 Butler on a neutral court. The other was -- you guessed it! -- at No. 23 Georgetown.

By 18 points.

So Georgetown should be ranked ahead of Notre Dame.

But it's just a minor complaint.

I can live with it.

LOS ANGELES -- Want to know how tough the Pac-10 is this season?

It's so tough that a team ranked ninth in the nation, like Oregon, can't reasonably expect to sweep two-game road swings.

"You just want to go on the road and get your splits," Oregon star Aaron Brooks said after losing at UCLA on Thursday night. "If we can just get this split we'll be in a good position."

One of the truly neat things about the Pac-10 is that every road swing is the same. Teams hit Arizona-Arizona State, Washington-Washington State, UCLA-Southern California, Stanford-California and Oregon-Oregon State on what typically is a Thursday-Saturday setup, though sometimes it's Thursday-Sunday. Consequently, it's currently impossible to make a Pac-10 road trip without playing a school ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll.

One trip provides No. 9 Oregon.

Another trip provides No. 18 Washington State.

Another trip provides No. 20 Arizona.

Another trip provides No. 23 Stanford.

And the trip Brooks and his Oregon teammates are now enduring provides No. 5 UCLA and a Southern California team that was 25th last week and probably should still be ranked given the Trojans are 17-6 overall, 7-3 in the Pac-10 and winners of eight of their past 11, with the lone losses coming at Stanford and to Washington State by three points and to UCLA by one point.

In other words, an L.A. split for Oregon would constitute a nice road trip. It'll now require a Saturday afternoon win at USC. But if it happens, the Ducks will be 20-3 overall, 8-3 in the Pac-10, and they won't drop outside the Top 10 of anybody's rankings, or at least they shouldn't.

LOS ANGELES -- I spent Wednesday morning traveling, and the afternoon and night at UCLA in advance of Thursday's showdown between the fifth-ranked Bruins and ninth-ranked Oregon Ducks. Got back to my hotel in time to listen to what seemed like a decent argument over something serious a few rooms down.

In between shouts, I also caught a little basketball.

It was a pretty wild night.

If you were fighting, here's what you missed. ..

• Kevin Durant went nuts again, leading No. 22 Texas to a 76-64 win at Texas Tech. The freshman finished with -- ready for this? -- 37 points and 23 rebounds, and actually outscored Texas Tech by himself in the second half (24-22). "He was just tremendous," said Texas coach Rick Barnes. "He's a once in a lifetime guy." I don't mean to beat a dead Barbaro, but this just further validates what I wrote at the end of my column the other day, that despite what anybody tries to tell you, the race for National Player of the Year should be over barring some kind of unexpected collapse. What we are witnessing with Durant is unique, and there's not another college player on his level. He's 18 years-old and just put 37 and 23 on a team instructed by Bob Knight, the winningest Division I men's coach in history. Spend the next five minutes thinking about that, then tell me if you still want to debate whether Durant is the POY.

• No. 2 Wisconsin lost at Indiana, and I wasn't surprised. Why? Because when I checked the line on the game it was basically a pick'em, meaning Las Vegas was begging gamblers to take the Badgers. Not that I have any experience betting on sports, but if I did I would tell you that anytime something looks weird you're always better off staying away. Wisconsin at Indiana fit that description, and there's a guy somewhere completely confused right now about how he could've possibly lost a lot of money betting on a team that had won 17 consecutive games.

• No. 19 Alabama won at LSU, which is great for Alabama and terrible for LSU. The Crimson Tide now have a nice road win, and perhaps the confidence to get their season turned around. Meanwhile, the Tigers are struggling and have lost four consecutive outings. It appears they could join George Mason as 2006 Final Four teams that do not make the NCAA Tournament.

• No. 11 Memphis played the second-place team in Conference USA on the road. There was a sellout crowd and rowdy atmosphere, and it only seemed to inspire the Tigers in an 87-65 blowout of UCF. Memphis is now 18-3 overall (8-0 in the league), and a Feb. 17 game at Gonzaga is the only obvious obstacle that could keep the Tigers from finishing the regular season on a 19-game winning streak.

• Virginia Commonwealth dropped its first Colonial Athletic Association game, a 79-68 loss at Hofstra. Regardless, the Rams still sit alone atop the league standings, but only because Hofstra inexplicably lost earlier in the week to Delaware, a team that is now 4-19. VCU is 19-4, 11-1 in the CAA. Hofstra is 17-6, 10-2 in the CAA.

• No. 1 Florida overcame a double-digit deficit and beat No. 24 Vanderbilt 74-64. The Gators would be wise to stop digging holes that require comebacks. But they're 20-2 overall, 7-0 in the SEC. So I guess they know what they're doing, and maybe that's just their way of making things interesting.